Today, we are in Psalm 94, a song written to address the apparent triumph of the wicked and the lack of just treatment of the helpless. Let's read together verses 1 through 11:

1 O Lord, God of vengeance,

    O God of vengeance, shine forth!

2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;

    repay to the proud what they deserve!

3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

    how long shall the wicked exult?

4 They pour out their arrogant words;

    all the evildoers boast.

5 They crush your people, O Lord,

    and afflict your heritage.

6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,

    and murder the fatherless;

7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;

    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”  

8 Understand, O dullest of the people!

    Fools, when will you be wise?

9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge —

11     the Lord — knows the thoughts of man,

    that they are but a breath.

As we look at the first half of Psalm 94, there are two important takeaways for us as 21st century shepherd leaders, whether we influence at work, at church, at school, in a parachurch organization, at home, or in our communities.

The first is to pray to the Lord for justice and the second is to do our part – in a Godly way, when the Father provides the opportunity and we are prompted to act to warn the wicked of their behavior.

Are you praying for justice in your part of the world today and in the world, as a whole?

I pray you’ll live deeply into your calling this week and that you’ll join me next week as we explore the remaining

Today, we are in Psalm 93, a short five-verse song that perfectly describes our God’s reign. 

Let's read together:

1

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;

    the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

2 

Your throne is established from of old;

    you are from everlasting.

3 

The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

    the floods have lifted up their voice;

    the floods lift up their roaring.

4 

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

    mightier than the waves of the sea,

    the Lord on high is mighty!

5 

Your decrees are very trustworthy;

    holiness befits your house,

    O Lord, forevermore.

One Psalm with five enormously important truths about our Lord... 

He reigns gloriously, 

He reigns powerfully, 

He reigns eternally, 

He reigns triumphantly,

He reigns in truth and holiness 

Thank you for joining us for this week’s Psalms for Shepherds podcast. May you live deeply into your calling this week.

Today, we are in Psalm 92, a song that beautifully displays the sovereign rule of God. Please join me in reading Psalm 92, entitled How Great Are Your Works:

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

    and your faithfulness by night,

3 to the music of the lute and the harp,

    to the melody of the lyre.

4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;

    at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

5 How great are your works, O Lord!

    Your thoughts are very deep!

6 The stupid man cannot know;

    the fool cannot understand this:

7 that though the wicked sprout like grass

    and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction forever;

8     but you, O Lord, are on high forever.

9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord,

    for behold, your enemies shall perish;

    all evildoers shall be scattered.

10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;

    you have poured over me fresh oil.

11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree

    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;

    they flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They still bear fruit in old age;

    they are ever full of sap and green,

15 to declare that the Lord is upright;

    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

This psalm reminds us that no matter what happens, we can fully trust in our God. He is our rock and our safety. When the sheep are attacking, when the storms are raging, when the flock is scattering… in every circumstance, He is sovereign.  

Be encouraged, shepherd pastor or parent or CEO or supervisor or shepherd partner or volunteer or friend, we serve the living God of the universe, and He is sovereign.

Today, we are focusing on Psalm 91, one of my personal favorites. In fact, I have been counting the weeks until we had the opportunity to hang out in this psalm a bit. Let’s get right to it and read together:

1 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

    and from the deadly pestilence.

4 

He will cover you with his pinions,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5 

You will not fear the terror of the night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7 

A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

8 

You will only look with your eyes

    and see the recompense of the wicked.

9 

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—

    the Most High, who is my refuge—

10 

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

    no plague come near your tent.

11 

For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways.

12 

On their hands they will bear you up,

    lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13 

You will tread on the lion and the adder;

    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14 

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

    I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15 

When he calls to me, I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble;

    I will rescue him and honor him.

16 

With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

Don’t you love this psalm? It has been called, “a writ of protection for all true believers,” but it also seems to demonstrate God’s presence, as well as His provision. 

All three of the pivotal elements of our Good Shepherd are here:

Provision, Protection, and Presence. 

I have so been looking forward to sharing this chapter with you — and it's taken over two years for us to get here! — and I pray it has encouraged you today.

May you live deeply into your calling this week,

Today we conclude our time in Psalm 90 with verses 13 through 17. Let’s read together:

13 

Return, O Lord! How long?

    Have pity on your servants!

14 

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

16 

Let your work be shown to your servants,

    and your glorious power to their children.

17 

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

    and establish the work of our hands upon us;

    yes, establish the work of our hands!

Does not all or a portion of that prayer sound like a prayer you or I could have prayed? 

The word “Return,” as Moses used it in verse 13, carries the idea of “turn again – or turn from your anger and show us the light of your countenance.” After all, in the earlier verses, Moses had reflected on the brevity of life, but he also reflected on the judgment of God against the Israelites that required them to wander for 40 years in the wilderness. 

There’s no question that, at times, Moses must have felt like his work was pointless, fruitless, and in vain. 

However, this portion of Moses’ prayer does not indicate that Moses has given up, but instead that he’s reaching out to the One who hears His people… the One who will answer his call.

I think that’s one of the lessons for me in this portion of Psalm 90. Often, as shepherd leaders, we can feel that our work is futile, that our service is overlooked, and our sacrifice is unappreciated or unrewarded. But we must remember that whatever we do for the Father is never overlooked, or forgotten, or for naught. 

Although we must not shepherd well for the reward it may bring, Peter tells us that whatever the Lord does not compensate for here on earth, will, in fact, be compensated in Heaven. 

Be encouraged by that and may you live deeply into your calling.

Today we continue in Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, with verses 3 through 12.

Let’s read together:

3 

You return man to dust

    and say, “Return, O children of man!”[b]

4 

For a thousand years in your sight

    are but as yesterday when it is past,

    or as a watch in the night.

5 

You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,

    like grass that is renewed in the morning:

6 

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

    in the evening it fades and withers.

7 

For we are brought to an end by your anger;

    by your wrath we are dismayed.

8 

You have set our iniquities before you,

    our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 

For all our days pass away under your wrath;

    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 

The years of our life are seventy,

    or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span[c] is but toil and trouble;

    they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 

Who considers the power of your anger,

    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 

So teach us to number our days

    that we may get a heart of wisdom.

This psalm truly highlights the truth that we have no time to waste! 

Now is the time to seek wisdom from the Almighty. Now is the time to put off our own ways — whatever they may be — and put on His ways. 

Although we most often number our years, we must learn to number our days because we do not know how many we have left on this earth and we must remember that we were put on this earth to honor and glorify the Father with every breath we take.

What will you do differently TODAY based on what you’ve heard from this portion of Moses’ song?

May you live deeply into your calling this week.

Today we begin Psalm 90, a 17-verse psalm which we'll go through over several podcasts. Today we'll be covering only verses 1 and 2 today. 

Let’s read together:

1

Lord, you have been our dwelling place

    in all generations.

2 

Before the mountains were brought forth,

    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

As you listen to this podcast, I pray that Moses, through Psalm 90, speaks to you today, reminding you that our God MUST be our dwelling place. We must abide in Him, and we must be intentional about how we do so. There is no other way to shepherd well — to provide, protect, and be present with those we influence and impact — without following the example Moses outlines in the first two verses of this Psalm.                                       

May we both — you and me — apply this lesson well this week and moving forward in our journey as His under-shepherd. 

We’re finished our time in Psalm 89 today as we read verses 38 through 52.

Let’s read together from Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation:

“But God, you did walk off and leave us, 

you lost your temper with the one you anointed. 

You tore up the promise you made to your servant, 

you stomped his crown in the mud. 

You blasted his home to kingdom come, 

reduced his city to a pile of rubble 

Picked clean by wayfaring strangers, 

a joke to all the neighbors. 

You declared a holiday for all his enemies, 

and they’re celebrating for all they’re worth. 

Angry, you opposed him in battle, 

refused to fight on his side; 

You robbed him of his splendor, humiliated this warrior, 

ground his kingly honor in the dirt. 

You took the best years of his life 

and left him an impotent, ruined husk. 

How long do we put up with this, God? 

Are you gone for good? Will you hold this grudge forever?

Remember my sorrow and how short life is.  

Did you create men and women for nothing but this?

We’ll see death soon enough. Everyone does. 

And there’s no back door out of hell. 

So where is the love you’re so famous for, Lord? 

What happened to your promise to David?  

Take a good look at your servant, dear Lord; 

I’m the butt of the jokes of all nations, 

The taunting jokes of your enemies, God, 

as they dog the steps of your dear anointed.  

Blessed be God forever and always! 

Yes. Oh, yes."

As we live deeply into our calling this week, together – you and me – no matter what we’re facing or the emotions we’re feeling, let’s be honest with our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd.

Let’s soak in His unconditional love, praise Him for it, and thank Him. Let’s rest in His promise that He’s in control. He will not let us stumble or fall.

We can fully trust our Shepherd, and say, “Blessed be God forever and always. ”Yes! Oh, yes!” 

We’re continuing our time in Psalm 89 and today we’re focusing on verses 19 through 37. As we get into it, you may recognize that this portion of Psalm 89 is really a summary of the promises the Lord made as recounted in 2 Samuel 7, verses 1-17. 

Let’s read together from Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation:

A long time ago you spoke in a vision, 

you spoke to your faithful beloved: 

“I’ve crowned a hero, 

I chose the best I could find; 

I found David, my servant, 

poured holy oil on his head, 

And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him, 

yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin. 

No enemy will get the best of him, 

no scoundrel will do him in. 

I’ll weed out all who oppose him, 

I’ll clean out all who hate him. 

I’m with him for good and I’ll love him forever; 

I’ve set him on high — he’s riding high! 

I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other; 

he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father — my God, my Rock of Salvation!’ 

Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line, 

High King over all of earth’s kings. 

I’ll preserve him eternally in my love, 

I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised. 

I’ll guarantee his family tree 

and underwrite his rule. 

If his children refuse to do what I tell them, 

if they refuse to walk in the way I show them, 

If they spit on the directions I give them 

and tear up the rules I post for them— 

I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion 

and make them face the music. 

But I’ll never throw them out, 

never abandon or disown them. 

Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise? 

or take back words I’d already spoken? 

I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word; 

do you think I would lie to David? 

His family tree is here for good, 

his sovereignty as sure as the sun, 

Dependable as the phases of the moon, 

inescapable as weather.” 

These verses are a wonderful reminder of

1.   How seriously God takes the words He utters

2.  How seriously he considered obedience, and

3.  How even though He disciplines us, He never stops loving us and he will never abandon us.        

God will discipline us as a father must discipline a disobedient child because although He loves us as we are, He does not want us to stay that way.

Be encouraged, shepherd leader, that our Father is on our side — and mightily so! 

May you live deeply into your calling this week.

Today we're in verses 5-18 of Psalm 89 where the psalmist continues to talk of God’s steadfast love, but also of His faithfulness, His power, and how God had shown His control, his supremacy, and His authority in the past.

Let's read together from Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation:

God! Let the cosmos praise your wonderful ways, 

the choir of holy angels sing anthems to your faithful ways! 

Search high and low, scan skies and land, 

you’ll find nothing and no one quite like God. 

The holy angels are in awe before him; 

he looms immense and august over everyone around him. 

God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who is like you, 

powerful and faithful from every angle? 

You put the arrogant ocean in its place 

and calm its waves when they turn unruly. 

You gave that old hag Egypt the back of your hand, 

you brushed off your enemies with a flick of your wrist. 

You own the cosmos — you made everything in it, 

everything from atom to archangel. 

You positioned the North and South Poles; 

the mountains Tabor and Hermon sing duets to you. 

With your well-muscled arm and your grip of steel— 

nobody messes with you! 

The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule; 

Love and Truth are its fruits. 

Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, 

who shout on parade in the bright presence of God. 

Delighted, they dance all day long;  

they know who you are, what you do.  — they cannot keep it quiet! 

Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us — 

you’ve been so good to us! We’re walking on air! 

All we are and have we owe to God, 

Holy God of Israel, our King! 

This psalm demonstrates that God has command over EVERYTHING and that He always does what is best for His people and honors His word.   

I pray that today, you, my shepherd-leader friend, will take time to bask in this passage and be reminded of who God truly is and the reminder that we can fully and completely trust in Him.

May you live deeply into your calling.